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About Eric

Eric P. Lesser was elected to the Massachusetts Senate on November 4, 2014. He represents nine communities in the First Hampden & Hampshire District, proudly serving Western Massachusetts as the youngest member of the State Senate.

Senator Lesser has quickly earned a reputation as one of the hardest working public servants in the Commonwealth. During his first year in office, Senator Lesser passed significant new laws related to substance abuse treatment and prevention, job training, and promotion of tourism and the arts.

Lesser’s legislative agenda focuses on the fight for greater economic opportunity and quality of life for Western Massachusetts, with initiatives around high-speed rail, a high-tech economy, job training, and innovation in government. Elected at the age of 29, Senator Lesser also spearheads the Senate’s agenda on millennial issues, including technology policy, student debt, and greater youth engagement in public affairs.

Senator Lesser holds several leadership positions in the Legislature. He is Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts & Cultural Development, Senate Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Financial Services, and Senate Chair of the Joint Legislative Manufacturing Caucus.

Prior to becoming a state Senator, Lesser worked in the Obama White House, first as Special Assistant to Senior Adviser David Axelrod, and later as Director of Strategic Planning for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Lesser began as a young aide on President Obama’s historic 2008 presidential campaign, traveling to 47 states and six countries with then-Senator Obama and his senior team. Lesser has been described as “the face of the promised Obama political generation” by the New York Times.

Lesser has a law degree from Harvard Law School and a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard College. Lesser first became active in politics as a student at Longmeadow High School, where he organized a coalition of students, parents and teachers to fight teacher layoffs and protect public education.

Lesser lives in Longmeadow, just blocks from where he grew up, with his wife, Alison, young daughter Rose, and family dog, Cooper.